The present invention refers to an adjustable wrench used for fastening threaded nuts to threaded screws or loosening nuts from threaded screws. Sets of open-end wrenches are well known having a fixed width of jaws.
In European countries and USA widely is used a wrench with parallel sliding adjustable jaws that was first invented in 1842 year by Richard Clyburn. Improvements are following. There are many forms of adjustable wrenches/spanners. Some spanners automatically adjust to size of a nut. Simpler models use a serrated edge to lock the movable jaw like was described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,037. Others use a transmission gear wheel to move a sliding track with a movable jaw (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,095,782; 6,834,569 . . . ).
One of a prior art about an adjustable wrench is U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,246. It is a nut wrench that has a V-shape hook as a moveable jaw. Two faces of the hook located by the angle of 120 degrees to each other. A fixed jaw on a handle end has an abutment surface that is parallel to one side of the hook. A standard worm nut on a shank of the hook allows adjusting the wrench's width. Such a design made the wrench more stable and convenient for an operator.
Another prior art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,528. This wrench looks like a standard Construction Spud Wrench, however, it has a sliding wedge-shaped jaw portion that is located perpendicular to a jaw motion and is engaged when an object is located between jaws. This portion moves and locks an object when the wrench is rotating in one direction and releases the object when rotation in an opposite direction. It is ratchet-like wrench.
Pub. 2010/0083798 A1 describes an adjustable wrench structure that includes a main body, a movable body and an adjusting wheel. The adjusting wheel is located at a rear section of the wrench, so an operator does not have to move hands forward and backward.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved adjustable wrench using simultaneous force distribution on a sloping surface and a friction force to lock a jaw. That leads to multiple variants of the adjustable wrench.
Sloping surfaces was used in wrench designs as a lock, however, a sliding jaw with a sloping abutment surface was newer used as a locking devise.